<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>339806</docID> <postdate>2025-03-07 11:51:00</postdate> <headline>‘Unprecedented’: thousands of tonnes of dead salmon</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-339807" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/dead-Tasmanian-salmon-resized.jpeg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>Salmon farms in Tasmania's south have for weeks been in the grips of "elevated mortality". Photo: Bob Brown Foundation</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Ethan James</strong> in Hobart</span></p> <p><strong>More than 5500 tonnes of dead salmon has been sent to waste facilities amid unprecedented mass mortality at aquaculture pens.</strong></p> <p>Farms in Tasmania's south have for weeks been in the grips of "elevated mortality" due to an endemic bacterium and warmer waters.</p> <p>Tasmania's environmental regulator said the figure - about six per cent of the state's annual salmon production - was for February alone, and came from data from southern waste facilities.</p> <p>The regulator said the scale of the deaths was unprecedented.</p> <p>"The 2024/25 summer season saw a significant increase in mortality notifications in the southern region compared to previous years," Environment Protection Authority director Cindy Ong said.</p> <p>"(We had) hundreds of pen notifications in February in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel region alone."</p> <p>Tasmania's salmon farms must tell the regulator when they experience elevated mortality but won't be required to report the exact amount of dead fish until later in March.</p> <p>The regulator is investigating whether environmental licences, waste regulations and the state's pollution control act have been breached.</p> <p>Some waste facilities have been found to be non-compliant with requirements and will likely face enforcement action, Ms Ong said.</p> <p>The regulator is also continuing an investigation into how congealed fish oil washed up on beaches in southern Tasmania in mid-February.</p> <p>The industry has been under growing pressure, with approval for farms at Macquarie Harbour on the west coast under federal government review after a challenge from environmentalists who want to safeguard an endangered fish.</p> <p>Producer Huon Aquaculture, which is experiencing elevated mass mortality at its farms in the south, is being investigating after a video showed workers sealing live salmon in a bin.</p> <p>The company's RSPCA approval could be under threat, with a spokesman revealing the animal welfare body was seeking further information.</p> <p>"The inhumane handling of live, sick or injured fish as shown is completely unacceptable," the RSPCA said.</p> <p>Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff, whose party supports the salmon industry, on Thursday said companies were "on notice".</p> <p>"I expect the highest possible degree of accountability and transparency ... because it is in Tasmania's brand interest and (the) industry's interest as well," he said.</p> <p>State Greens MP Vica Bayley said he had received reports of salmon matter washing up on the western side of the Huon River, further afield from the February finds.</p> <p>"What we're seeing raises huge environmental concerns, and is having a clear impact on the community," he said on Friday.</p> <p>The Environment Protection Authority and industry body Salmon Tasmania have been contacted for further comment.</p> </body>